The METALLURGICAL HISTORYof MONTREAL BRIDGES AN ONLINE SERIES by H.J. McQueen, Concordia University PART 1 THE VICTORIA TUBULAR BRIDGE (1859) — WROUGHT IRON The METALLURGICAL HISTORYof MONTREAL BRIDGES THE VICTORIA TUBULAR BRIDGE (1859) — WROUGHT IRON Abstract Despite difficulties with travel and the transportation of 3. The Quebec Bridge (1917) carried both rail and road goods, especially during freeze-up or spring thaw, there was high above the channel, near the start of tidal brackish no bridge across the St. Lawrence until 1859. It was only in water, and allowed for the passage of ocean liners this year that railroad development reached a stage that beneath it. This bridge furthered the development of the ensured it would be economically successful to build a Canadian steel industry through failure analysis of the bridge. Building a long bridge across the non-navigable initial collapsed bridge and the development of high- Lachine rapids was relatively easy for pier construction. The strength nickel steel. bridge was a wrought iron box girder design, which had The advance of metals technology generally followed been developed recently in England. Wrought iron, which incremental improvements that either led up to or followed had been economically produced by the puddling of coke- significant breakthroughs. Such developments had seeming- reduced pig iron, was the only material of suitable strength ly little impact on social history until they enabled applica- and ductility at the time. It had to be imported from Britain tions that altered people’s way of life. One such landmark, because of very low production in Canada, although there the steam-powered passenger railroad, depended on was sufficient pig iron capacity in Canada. The bridge wrought and cast iron combined with more dimensionally proved a technical success for 50 years, carrying up to 100 accurate machining, thereby reducing leakage between pis- trains per day, providing passenger traverse and enabling ton and cylinders. Rolled iron sheets were fabricated into product delivery that enhanced industrial production in riveted boilers and tubes were produced by hot pressure Montreal. welding; these made possible higher specific power in mobile engines. Increased speeds, loads and travel miles Introduction demanded iron frames, forged iron axles, couplings and In this series of papers, the history of metallurgy is cast iron wheels (replacing spoked wooden wheels). Iron approached through an application of Canadian engineer- straps on wooden rails were soon replaced with rolled iron ing, namely the construction of bridges about a century ago. rails of greater strength and wear-resistance. Multi-wagon These bridges are still in use today by a public that does not trains, which required gradual hills and curves, greatly realize their historical significance, nor the metallurgical increased the need for longer and stronger bridges. and engineering creativity that made them possible. In the The need and support for the construction of a bridge current series, three bridges are considered in as many near Montreal is discussed in the present paper, as is the site installments: selection of the bridge. In addition, this paper explores the 1. The Victoria Tubular Bridge (1859) was the first bridge design possibilities for the structure, which were the out- across the St. Lawrence between the Thousand Islands growth of international developments in bridge technology and the gulf (1,200 kilometres), was single-track rail and and were very much dependent on restricted material avail- was constructed out of wrought iron. The bridge provid- ability. The significant features of the Victoria Bridge con- ed an important contribution to the evolution of struction are then presented, followed by a discussion of its Canadian industry. successful operation and its impact on industrial growth 2. The Victoria Truss Bridge (1898), built upon the same near Montreal. piers as the Victoria Tubular Bridge, had double rail tracks and also provided roads for pedestrians and car- Reasons for the Bridge riages. The construction of this bridge highlights the con- There was general demand for a crossing of the St. version to steel throughout the metallurgical industry and Lawrence near Montreal to replace steam ferries that ran in the significance of hot driven rivets, essential for building summer and the ice road in winter (Ball, 1987; Victoria large structures. Jubilee Bridge, 1898; Hodges, 1860; McQueen, 1992; Ponts | 2 | The metallurgical history of Montreal bridges du Québec, 1975; Szeliski, 1987; Triggs, Young, Graham, & used if long spans were not needed (in North America, Lauzon, 1992; Wilson, 1999). The need was greatest during wooden trestles were more common). Wrought iron girders late autumn freeze-up and the spring ice break-up, when with riveted flanges and ribs were used for bridges up to 9.5 crossing was hazardously attempted in hand-rowed cutters metres (31 feet) in length, but truss design had not been that had to be pulled across the ice flows by the crew. adequately developed. For intermediate spans, arches fabri- Moreover, there was a desire to connect with the network of cated from cast-iron segments were often suitable; however, short rail lines that ran along the South Shore and extend- many of these failed in railroad service and often resulted in ed into the Eastern Townships; these rail lines had sprung disasters under unexpectedly adverse conditions. For long up to replace the inadequate road system (Boot, 1985). spans, suspension bridges with wrought iron chain, or eye- Furthermore, the Inter-Colonial Railroad, which began in bars with pins, filled the need for carriage roads (Pantydd the Maritimes, was under construction and would need a Menai, The Menai Bridges, 1980; Plowden, 1974; Rosenberg link across the St. Lawrence. However, the greatest driving & Vincent; 1978; Smith, 1964; Steinman & Watson, 1957; force for the construction of a bridge was the Grand Trunk Watson, 1975). Conversely, they proved insufficiently stiff Railroad, which was intended to connect a line from the for the heavy, swaying, live loads of multi-carriage trains; Atlantic ice-free port of Portland, Maine, to the western line several suspension spans were shaken to pieces in spectacu- which ran to Toronto and, later, Chicago (Victoria Jubilee lar disasters. A new design was developed in England Bridge, 1898; Triggs et al., 1992). around 1848 that would prove suitable for use across the St. In light of the extensive railroad system that had spread Lawrence. across the United Kingdom and Europe in the period In order to complete a contract by 1850 for a rail line between 1825 and 1850, both the general public and busi- from Manchester across Wales to the port of the Dublin nesses shared the opinion that a continuous rail network was ferry, R. Stephenson needed to span the deep gorge of necessary to usher Eastern Canada into the modern world (Triggs et al., 1992). A bridge at Montreal was essential for attracting passengers from the very slow, but interconnect- ing, network of steamboats and stagecoaches. Furthermore, a continuous rail network was needed to hasten freight ship- ments, which were faster than boats across rivers, lakes and canals. These included not only the Lachine and Rideau canals, but also the Erie Canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. In addition, politicians saw gap-free railroads as iron bands that would greatly strengthen the spirit of national unity; this vision culminated in Confederation about a decade later (Triggs et al., 1992). The site for the bridge was selected by two brothers, T.C. and S. Keeffer, who were later to become prominent builders and founders of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineers (Ball, 1987; Hodges, 1860; Ritchie, 1968). The brothers selected a site at the eastern end of the Lachine Rapids. This location was chosen, in part, to connect with the lines to the Fig. 1. The site of the Victoria Bridge, at the eastern limit of the Lachine Rapids, was to the west of ferry terminal, but mainly to avoid any obstruction to ocean the Old Port. It was also south of the Lachine Canal, which required several swing bridges; these Figureare seldom 1. The opened site oftoday, the Victoriathereby facilitatingBridge, at the present eastern heavy limit ofrail the traffic. Lachine Although Rapids, there was are to sev- the west of the Old shipping into the port of Montreal (Fig. 1). While this loca- Port.eral more It was recent also road south bridges, of the theLachine Victoria, Canal, which which was reconstructed required several in truss swing in 1898, bridges; is still these heav- are seldom opened today,ily used. thereby Adapted facilitating from map the of presentMontreal heavy (2005) rail published traffic. Although by JDM GEO, there areles publicationsseveral more Map recent Art road bridges, the tion for a bridge crossing would be quite long (2,010 metres Victoria,in Montreal. which was reconstructed in truss in 1898, is still heavily used. or 1.3 miles), it would have the advantage of secure pier footings on shallow bedrock. The spans could be relatively short and low (Fig. 2), allowing sufficient height for the pas- sage of log rafts from the Ottawa River and for the occasion- al shallow draft steamers that shot the rapids and carried excursion crowds down river after an ascent via the Lachine Canal (Hodges, 1860; Triggs et al., 1992). A wooden bridge was out of the question because of inadequate durability for railroad service and a stone arch bridge of such magnitude was beyond Canadian skilled manpower capability. Railroad Bridge Requirements Rail transportation required extensive bridging and put Fig. 2. Victoria Tubular Bridge, viewed from the northwest, showing the gradual incline towards the centre span and the prows on the piers for breaking ice floes. The thick protective abutment walls older technology to severe trials because of the large active Figurewere removed 2.